Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively | Books | The Guardian Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively Week four: readers' responses Friday 21 May 2010 19.06 EDT First published on Friday 21 May 2010 19.06 EDT Share on Messenger Close While readers who come to hear an author discuss his or her book at the Guardian book club are usually fans, those who contribute to the blog on the book club website are sometimes detractors. The impatient and unimpressed are at least as likely to take to the keyboard as the enthusiastic, especially if the book in question has been garlanded with any awards. So there is something unusual about the unanimity of readers writing about Penelope Lively's Moon Tiger on the book club website. Contributors all wanted to express their admiration – but also their sense that Lively's novel has not had its critical due. Readers who tried to describe the book's pull focused on the character of its protagonist and occasional narrator, Claudia Hampson, an elderly, dying historian, recalling the fragments of her life from her hospital bed. "Claudia is . . .

confused and irascible, and not particularly endearing," observed one, yet the same reader admitted she was "one of my all-time favourite literary heroines". Another, who found him- or herself drawn to the novel, added, "perhaps because I am intrigued by characters that may, at first, appear wholly unsympathetic". "But is she wholly unsympathetic?" asked another. "From the very beginning there's an impish, bloody-minded charm that is extremely alluring . . . I think a truly unsympathetic protagonist would be someone lacking the kind of charisma that Claudia has." The narrative structure made Claudia's selfishness peculiarly vivid. A reader at the book club spoke of Claudia's lack of maternal affection for her awkward daughter, Lisa, as a reason for believing in her. "I remember reading this book when it first came out and thinking – yes! Someone else is a bad mother!" Another had enough affection for her to feel disappointed that she "sells out" by allowing her historical book about Mexico to be made into an evidently vulgar and trivial film.

She becomes, the author agreed, as bad as the specious Jasper, the sometime lover whom she likes to condemn for his exploitation of history in his TV programmes. (Though Claudia is punished by the novelist for her flirtation with film-celebrity culture by being in a Riviera car crash with a fading film star.) One reader, who had read Lively's memoir of her childhood in Egypt, expressed some doubt about the author's assurance that Claudia had nothing of her. She might not have her character, but did she not have some of the same memories of wartime Egypt? "I think she has quite a lot of you." Another pointed out that Claudia's frequent reflections on history sound as if they might be the author's reflections too. What about the novel's romance? Unknown to her family and friends, the most important episode of Claudia's life has been her affair with a young tank officer, killed not long after she met him. What would have happened if he had not died? Would Lively's anti-heroine have been any less selfish or "impossible"? One reader sketched out the alternative plot.

"I found myself imagining a different kind of story, where he doesn't die, and they get together after the war, and it all fizzles out and he doesn't any longer have the lean, bronzed body . . . and she's much more successful than him, and he's jealous of Gordon when he finds out about Gordon." (Gordon being the adored elder brother with whom Claudia perhaps had an incestuous relationship.) What did she think of this "whole other novel"? Lively rather went along with the "scenario", recalling that Tom had murmured something to Claudia about becoming a farmer after the war and remarking: "Well, I do not see Claudia as a farmer's wife." What is most remarkable about Moon Tiger is its narrative method, scrambling chronology in imitation of its protagonist's own recollections. In response to questions, Lively explained that she had written the novel in just the order in which it now appeared to the reader, following the temporal shifts just as the reader would experience them. She told us that, in an early edition, a printing error had transposed the last sectio ns of all the chapters. Every chapter had been given an ending from a different chapter.

"Astonishingly, only one purchaser returned the book to the bookshop, with a letter to be sent to the publisher saying that experimental fiction was all very well, but this was going too far." Lively's readers will have no truck with their author's modesty. "I was blown away by Moon Tiger when I read it a few years back, and it's a shame that sexist reviewers failed to appreciate it – if it had been published today, she would have got the sort of acclaim Hilary Mantel is currently enjoying." Many felt that, despite the novel winning the Booker prize in 1987, it had been neglected or condescended to. Lively herself said that winning the Booker had made rather little difference to her, but she confessed to being "thrilled" to see that Moon Tiger had now become a Penguin Modern Classic. "It made me feel dead, in fact," she said, with an odd sort of satisfaction. John Mullan is professor of English at University College London. Next week he will be looking at Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Join them for a discussion on Sunday 30 May at 8.30pm, at the Guardian Stage, Hay festival site.

Tickets are £6, from mitchell-talks-to-john-mullan.aspx (01497 822 629). For forthcoming events go to Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively, week one: divided tenses Published: 30 Apr 2010 Guardian book club, week two: John Mullan on Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively Published: 7 May 2010 Week three: writing Moon Tiger Published: 14 May 2010 The author of the Booker-winning novel Moon Tiger, Penelope Lively, discusses the genesis of her heroine and more at the Guardian book club Published: 5 Jul 2010 Moon Tiger : Penelope Lively : 9780141044842 Add to basket Add to wishlist Description Penelope Lively's Booker Prize winning classic, Moon Tiger is a haunting story of loss and desire. Claudia Hampton - beautiful, famous, independent, dying. But she remains defiant to the last, telling her nurses that she will write a 'history of the world ...and in the process, my own'.

And it is her story from a childhood just after the First World War through the Second and beyond. But Claudia's life is entwined with others and she must allow those who knew her, loved her, the chance to speak, to put across their point of view. There is Gordon, brother and adversary; Jasper, her untrustworthy lover and father of Lisa, her cool conventional daughter; and then there is Tom, her one great love, found and lost in wartime Egypt. 'Leaves its traces in the air long after you've put it away' Anne Tyler 'A complex tapestry of great subtlety. Lively writes so well, savouring the words as she goes' Daily Telegraph 'Very clever: evocative, thought-provoking and hangs on the mind long after it is finished' Literary Review Penelope Lively is the author of many prize-winning novels and short-story collections for both adults and children. She has twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize: once in 1977 for her first novel, The Road to Lichfield, and again in 1984 for According to Mark. She later won the 1987 Booker Prize for her highly acclaimed novel Moon Tiger.

Her other books include Going Back; Judgement Day; Next to Nature, Art; Perfect Happiness; Passing On; City of the Mind; Cleopatra's Sister; Heat Wave; Beyond the Blue Mountains, a collection of short stories; Oleander, Jacaranda, a memoir of her childhood days in Egypt; Spiderweb; her autobiographical work, A House Unlocked; The Photograph; Making It Up; Consequences; Family Album, which was shortlisted for the 2009 Costa Novel Award, and How It All Began. She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award. She was appointed CBE in the 2001 New Year's Honours List, and DBE in 2012. Penelope Lively lives in London. show more Product details 126 x 194 x 16mm | 158.76g Publication date Contemporary Fiction Review quote Leaves its traces in the air long after you've put it away -- Anne Tyler A complex tapestry of great subtlety.

Lively writes so well, savouring the words as she goes Daily Telegraph Very clever: evocative, thought-provoking and hangs on the mind long after it is finished Literary Review show more About Penelope Lively Penelope Lively has written many prize-winning novels for adults and children. They include: The Road To Lichfield, According To Mark, Moon Tiger (which won the 1987 Booker Prize), Heat Wave, Spiderweb, The Photograph, Making It Up, Consequences and Family Album. Penelope Lively lives in London. show more Review Text Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively · OverDrive: eBooks, audiobooks and videos for libraries Penelope Lively's Booker Prize winning classic, Moon Tiger is a haunting story of loss and desire. Claudia Hampton - beautiful, famous, independent, dying. But she remains defiant to the last, telling her nurses that she will write a 'history of the world . . . and in the process, my own'. And it is her story from a childhood just after the First World War through the Second and beyond.

But Claudia's life is entwined with others and she must allow those who knew her, loved her, the chance to speak, to put across their point of view. There is Gordon, brother and adversary; Jasper, her untrustworthy lover and father of Lisa, her cool conventional daughter; and then there is Tom, her one great love, found and lost in wartime Egypt. 'Leaves its traces in the air long after you've put it away' Anne Tyler 'A complex tapestry of great subtlety. Lively writes so well, savouring the words as she goes' Daily Telegraph 'Very clever: evocative, thought-provoking and hangs on the mind long after it is finished' Literary Review Penelope Lively is the author of many prize-winning novels and short-story collections for both adults and children. She has twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize: once in 1977 for her first novel, The Road to Lichfield, and again in 1984 for According to Mark. She later won the 1987 Booker Prize for her highly acclaimed novel Moon Tiger.

Her other books include Going Back; Judgement Day; Next to Nature, Art; Perfect Happiness; Passing On; City of the Mind; Cleopatra's Sister; Heat Wave; Beyond the Blue Mountains, a collection of short stories; Oleander, Jacaranda, a memoir of her childhood days in Egypt; Spiderweb; her autobiographical work, A House Unlocked; The Photograph; Making It Up; Consequences; Family Album, which was shortlisted for the 2009 Costa Novel Award, and How It All Began. She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award. She was appointed CBE in the 2001 New Year's Honours List, and DBE in 2012. Penelope Lively lives in London. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively Week four: readers' responses<p>While readers who come to hear an author discuss his or her book at the Guardian book club are usually fans, those who contribute to the blog on the book club website are sometimes detractors.

The impatient and unimpressed are at least as likely to take to the keyboard as the enthusiastic, especially if the book in question has been garlanded with any awards. So there is something unusual about the unanimity of readers writing about Penelope Lively's <em>Moon Tiger </em>on the book club website. Contributors all wanted to express their admiration – but also their sense that Lively's novel has not had its critical due.</p><p>Readers who tried to describe the book's pull focused on the character of its protagonist and occasional narrator, Claudia Hampson, an elderly, dying historian, recalling the fragments of her life from her hospital bed. "Claudia is . . . confused and irascible, and not particularly endearing," observed one, yet the same reader admitted she was "one of my all-time favourite literary heroines". Another, who found him- or herself drawn to the novel, added, "perhaps because I am intrigued by characters that may, at first, appear wholly unsympathetic". "But is she wholly unsympathetic?" asked another. "From the very beginning there's an impish, bloody-minded charm that is extremely alluring . . .

I think a truly unsympathetic protagonist would be someone lacking the kind of charisma that Claudia has."</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Books Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively Week three: writing Moon Tiger<p>I feel now as though someone else wrote it. Which is of course the case – I am not the person that I was 23 years ago. But I remember her, and I know what she was up to, what I was trying to do. I had always wanted to write about Egypt during the second world war, to make use of my own childhood experience there. At the same time. I was interested in the operation of memory, and the nature of evidence, and wanted to weave these preoccupations into a piece of fiction.</p><p>What is memory? A crutch on which we lean, or an albatross round the neck? History is a matter of conflicting evidence, and so is private life – my version of a particular event will not be the same as yours.

And out of this confusion of concerns, <em>Moon Tiger</em> somehow arose.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Penelope Lively Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively, week two Week two: divided viewpoints<p>In the late 1980s, Claudia Hampson is 76 and dying in a hospital bed. She has lived through much of the 20th century, and, being a historian, is presumptuous enough to think of her own story as a kind of "history of the world". The novel relies on her narrative curiosity. At the beginning of every chapter we are in her hospital room, following her memories back into the story of her life. We shift from third-person, present-tense narrative (the nurses ministering to the incoherent patient), to Claudia's own first-person narrative (at once confessional and unapologetic), to re-enacted episodes from her life. With one important exception, every such episode from the past is narrated at least twice: once from Claudia's point of view and once from another character's point of view.</p><p>In some ways, different accounts always dovetail.

In Chapter 2, at a party, Claudia's brother Gordon argues with her about her relationship with the feckless Jasper, who is across the room, busily charming some other guests. The altercation is narrated from Claudia's point of view. She tells her disapproving brother that she met Jasper when she went to interview him for a book. Gordon's wife, Sylvia, attempts to find a happier topic of conversation.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Books Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively, week one Week one: divided tenses<p>Tell the story of <em>Moon Tiger</em>, and you might hear something like a sad, romantic tale you have heard before. Headstrong, unconventional Claudia Hampton grows up between the wars, falls in love with Tom, a tank officer, while working as a correspondent in Egypt at the time of El Alamein, and enjoys brief happiness before he is killed. After the war she achieves success as a writer, has affairs and a rather unsatisfactory daughter, but never regains what she knew and has lost. As a story it sounds familiar.

Yet, though this is what happens, the novel's narrative – the pattern in which its events are arranged – is utterly unfamiliar and audacious.</p><p>Some of <em>Moon Tiger</em> is told in the past tense, and some in the present tense. Such a division of tenses is rare&nbsp;in fiction: the most famous example is probably <em>Bleak House</em>. Like Dickens's novel, <em>Moon Tiger</em> also alternates narrative voices. The passages in&nbsp;the past tense are narrated in the first person by Claudia as an old woman, looking back on her life. The passages in the present tense are narrated in the third person, though these always include Claudia as one of the actors.

The novel shuttles us between times and between viewpoints, but also between tenses.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Books Guardian Review book club with Penelope Lively See the acclaimed novelist talking to John Mullan about her 1987 Booker prize winner Moon Tiger<p><strong>Date: </strong>Tuesday 11 May<br><strong>Time:</strong> 7.00pm<br><strong>Venue: </strong>Hall Two, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG<br><strong>Price: </strong><a href="">£9.50</a></p><p>Penelope Lively will talk to John Mullan about her 1987 Booker prize-winning novel, Moon Tiger. Celebrated historian Claudia Hampton lies dying in a London hospital.

From her deathbed she recreates a history of her life and times, conjuring up memories of Gordon, her adored brother; Jasper, the charming, untrustworthy lover and father of Lisa, her cool, conventional daughter; and Tom, her one great love, both found and lost in wartime Egypt.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Penelope Lively Booker club: Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively Ludicrously patronised by reviewers, Penelope Lively's novel is actually one of the very best Booker winners ever<p>"The Moon Tiger is a green coil that slowly burns all night, repelling mosquitoes, dropping away into lengths of grey ash, its glowing red eye a companion of the hot insect-rasping darkness." </p><p>I include this quote in case you were wondering about the title, and also because it suggests some of the appeal of Penelope Lively's Booker winner. Atmospheric enough in its own right, the image takes on more power when you know that this Moon Tiger comes into focus because it lies beside two lovers – Claudia and Tom – on one of their last snatched nights together in Cairo during the second world war.

Tom is about to return to the frontline – and death – and the two have barely even had time to get to know each other. The coil burns away as Claudia tries to cement Tom in her mind and gets him to tell her his life story. Eventually, he comes to her. "I like this part of the story best," she says, and Lively writes: "And oh God, thinks Claudia, may it have a happy ending. Please may it have a happy ending. The Moon Tiger is almost entirely burned away now; its green spiral is mirrored by an ash spiral in the saucer." What she doesn't write, but what we see, is the march of time, relentlessly trampling every moment into the past; the ash-spiral fragility of memory; the transience of passion; the fact that even when we burn brightest we are already dying … </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Booker prize Observer interview with author Penelope Lively Robert McCrum interviews Penelope Lively about her life as an author, having won the Booker Prize in 1987 for Moon Tiger, and her new book, A House Unlocked<p><strong> Observer: </strong> What made you write A House Unlocked?

</p><p> <strong> Penelope Lively: </strong> When the house had to be disposed of, after my aunt died in 1995, my children and I were all heartbroken. We'd known it all our lives and it was terribly important to us. In the weeks and months afterwards we kept thinking it was all gone. And then, of course, I realised that it wasn't, because I had it in my head. And my daughter and I particularly used to talk about it and move around the house saying, 'No, that picture was there. No, no, no, that's where that carpet was.' So I realised that I had this memory house and would never lose it. And then I started to make analogies with Frances Yates's The Art of Memory and began to think maybe I could write about it. </p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Penelope Lively Moon Tiger: Penelope Lively: Trade Paperback: 9780802135339: Powell's Books Synopses & Reviews Publisher Comments Penelope Lively won Britain's prestigious Booker Prize for this deeply moving, elegantly structured novel.

Elderly, uncompromising Claudia Hampton lies in a London hospital bed with memories of life fluttering through her fading consciousness. An author of popular history, Claudia proclaims she's carrying out her last project: a history of the world. This history turns out to be a mosaic of her life, her own story tangled with those of her brother, her lover and father of her daughter, and the center of her life, Tom, her one great love found and lost in war-torn Egypt. Always the independent woman, often with contentious relationships, Claudia's personal history is complex and fascinating. As people visit Claudia, they shake and twist the mosaic, changing speed, movement, and voice, to reveal themselves and Claudia's impact on their world. Review "This haunting evocation of loss is Lively's finest achievement yet." Library Journal Review "A powerful, moving and beautifully wrought novel about the ways in which lives are molded by personal memory and the collective past." Boston Globe Review "It pulls us in; it engages us and saddens us. It is also unexpectedly funny....

It leaves its traces in the air long after you've put it away." New York Times Book Review Review "Winner of the coveted Booker Prize, Moon Tiger is 'a novel of exceptional intelligence and depth, by one of England's finest writers.' "Publishers Weekly Review "Emotionally, Moon Tiger is kaleidoscopic, deeply satisfying. The all too brief encounter between Claudia and Tom will surely rate as one of the most memorable of contemporary fictional affairs. This is one of the best novels I have ready for years." Telegraph The London Sunday Synopsis Claudia was in Cairo as a war correspondent during the 1940 desert campaign. On a trip to the front, she met a young tank officer, Tom, with whom she fell in love. Their affair is remembered against the background of the desert war, the swimming pools and nightclubs of Cairo, the Moon Tiger that burns beside their bed in the Winter Palace in Luxor. Tom was killed; Claudia, pregnant, miscarried. Now, as an old woman, she thinks about this man who is forever half her age, who was picked off by history. Synopsis The last thoughts of a dying writer are captured in this intelligent novel by Booker Prize-winner Penelope Lively.

The moving and poignant story of life as a writer, historian, and mother ends as a saga of unfufilled love. Synopsis Winner of the Man Booker Prize The elderly Claudia Hampton, a best-selling author of popular history; lies alone in a London hospital bed. Memories of her life still glow in her fading consciousness, but she imagines writing a history of the world. Instead, Moon Tiger is her own history, the life of a strong, independent woman, with its often contentious relations with family and friends. At its center  forever frozen in time, the still point of her turning world  is the cruelly truncated affair with Tom, a British tank commander whom Claudia knew as a reporter in Egypt during World War II. About the Author Penelope Lively is the author of over twenty books of fiction and nonfiction, including the Booker Prize-winning novel Moon Tiger and the Whitbread Award-winning novel A Stitch in Time, as well as numerous children's books.

What Our Readers Are Saying Penelope Lively's life in books - BBC News BBC News Penelope Lively's life in books 31 December 2011 Close share panel Image caption Lively began writing children's novels in her late thirties Author Penelope Lively, who is made a Dame in the New Year's Honours List, is arguably best known for her Booker-winning novel Moon Tiger. But as an award-winning children's author and the writer of more than 50 books, including How It All Began - published in November - her popularity is not limited to highbrow literary circles. Indeed, early reviews of Moon Tiger were recently described as "distinctly condescending" by Guardian journalist Sam Jordison, with the novel regarded as "the housewife's choice" among Booker rivals of the time. It went on to confound all expectations and clinch the 1987 prize, beating favoured literary powerhouses Iris Murdoch and Peter Ackroyd to the title. It was an accolade which Lively, with characteristic humility, described as "disconcerting". "How do you follow it up?" she said later, speaking of her unexpected success.

Born and raised in Cairo - where much of Moon Tiger is set - Lively was educated at boarding school in Sussex from the age of 12 and later attended Oxford University, where she read Modern History. In 1957, at the age of 24, she married Jack Lively with whom she had two children, Josephine and Adam. 'Having a go' Lively did not embark on a writing career until she was in her late thirties when her children were both school age, but her talent was recognised almost immediately. "It was a combination of an intense interest in children's literature, which I've always had, and the feeling that I'd just have a go," she told The Observer's Robert McCrum in 2001. "I didn't think I had anything particular to say, but I thought I might have something to say to children." As a children's writer, she flourished in the 1970s, winning the Carnegie Medal in 1973 for The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, and picking up the Whitbread Children's Book Award for A Stitch in Time in 1976.

Then, in 1977, came her first adult novel, The Road to Lichfield - the tale of a woman dealing with her father's impending death and reassessing their lives in the process. I didn't think I had anything particular to say, but I thought I might have something to say to children Penelope Lively The Road to Lichfield was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, ultimately losing out to Paul Scott's Staying On - but it marked out Lively as one to watch. Hot on its heels came a book of short stories, and Treasures of Time, both of which picked up awards - and in 1984, Lively made the Booker shortlist again, this time for According to Mark. Her rivals included Julian Barnes, JG Ballard, Anita Desai and David Lodge. Anita Brookner won the award for Hotel du Lac. Three years later, came Booker victory and a Whitbread nomination. Since then, Lively has continued to write novels that are both emotionally demanding yet retain a broad appeal. "She is interested in the operation of memory - how it works and how we use it - and with the nature of evidence," wrote her editor at Penguin, Juliet Annan.

"Her preoccupations are with telling a tale from different angles... But also, like any good historian, she is meticulous in her research." "Approaching her 80th year, Lively's sense of humour lives up to her name," said a reviewer of her latest book in the Sunday Telegraph. "Whatever your age, How It All Began is a splendid tonic." The author, now widowed, lives in London and has six grandchildren. Moon Tiger | Main House at Theatre Royal Bath | Theatre Royal Bath Moon Tiger Overview Compelling, moving and eloquent, one of the great novels of the 20th century is brought to the stage for the first time. Winner of the 1987 Booker Prize, Penelope Lively’s Moon Tiger is a haunting story of loss and desire. Claudia Hampton is a popular historian, a strong, beautiful and difficult woman. Now in her seventies, she is plotting her greatest work – a history of the world. She looks back over her life growing up between the wars and remembers the people who have shared its triumphs and tragedies.

There is Gordon, her adored brother; Jasper, the charming, untrustworthy lover and father of her daughter, and Tom, her one great love, both found and lost during the El Alamein campaign when she worked as a war correspondent. Against a background of world events, Claudia’s own remarkable story provokes a sharp combination of sadness, shock and amusement. Jane Asher is one of the UK’s most accomplished actresses. Her recent theatre credits include Pride and Prejudice at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Charley’s Aunt, The Importance of Being Earnest and Festen. Recent television includes Stephen Poliakoff’s Dancing on the Edge, Holby City and The Old Guys and she stars in the 2013 film I Give it a Year. Simon Reade’s adaptations include Pride and Prejudice, Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children and Ted Hughes’s Tales from Ovid for the RSC and Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful. Dame Penelope Lively is a prolific, popular and critically-acclaimed author of fiction for both children and adults.

The Artistic Director of The Rose Theatre, Kingston, Stephen Unwin was the founder of English Touring Theatre for whom he directed twenty much-acclaimed productions. Back to top My goodness, but this is a gripping story well told; an entrancing piece of theatre that engages and ultimately shakes you out of your seat with an unexpected ending that is all the more poignant for it ... the ending is a delicious moment of storytelling, and a brilliant translation of haunting novel to dramatic stage - Listomania What hits one within minutes is the beauty of the language, the clever use of words that make for gentle humour and how often the play nudges us in the direction of remembering our own history ...

full of interesting ideas all pouring forth as we look back on a life that is always, in Jane Asher's hands, absolutely riveting - Bath Chronicle Running Time: 2 hours, including interval Prices Tues – Fri eves and Sat mat: £19.00 £24.50 £26.50 £29.50 £31.50 Sat eve: £21.50 £25.50 £27.50 £30.50 £33.50 Thurs mat: £17.50 £23.00 £25.00 £29.00 £30.00 Post Show Discussion: Thursday Evening £2.50 transaction fee when booking online, plus an additional £1.00 postage fee, if required. A Booking Fee will apply to all transactions, whether made in person at our Box Office, by post or by phone, for all payment types. For all transactions of £15 or more the fee will be a total of £2.50, regardless of how many tickets are booked. For all transactions under £15 the fee will be £1.

Please note the ticket price includes a £2 Building Levy. Moon Tiger : Penelope Lively : 9780241973684 Add to basket Add to wishlist Description Penelope Lively's Booker Prize winning classic, Moon Tiger is a haunting story of loss and desire, published here as a Penguin Essential for the first time. Claudia Hampton - beautiful, famous, independent, dying. But she remains defiant to the last, telling her nurses that she will write a 'history of the world ...and in the process, my own'. And it is her story from a childhood just after the First World War through the Second and beyond. But Claudia's life is entwined with others and she must allow those who knew her, loved her, the chance to speak, to put across their point of view. There is Gordon, brother and adversary; Jasper, her untrustworthy lover and father of Lisa, her cool conventional daughter; and then there is Tom, her one great love, found and lost in wartime Egypt. 'Leaves its traces in the air long after you've put it away' Anne Tyler 'A complex tapestry of great subtlety.

Lively writes so well, savouring the words as she goes' Daily Telegraph 'Very clever: evocative, thought-provoking and hangs on the mind long after it is finished' Literary Review show more Product details 111 x 181 x 14mm | 125g Publication date 9780802110275: Moon Tiger - AbeBooks - Lively, Penelope: 0802110274 Lively, Penelope ISBN 10: 0802110274 ISBN 13: 9780802110275 Publisher: Grove Pr, 1988 About this title Claudia Hampton, a beautiful, famous writer, lies dying in hospital. But, as the nurses tend to her with quiet condescension, she is plotting her greatest work: "a history of the world...and in the process, my own". Gradually she re-creates the rich mosaic of her life and times, conjuring up those she has known.

There is Gordon, her adored brother, and Jasper, her charming, untrustworthy lover and father of Lisa, her cool, conventional daughter. Then there is Tom, her one great love, both found and lost in wartime Egypt. Penelope Livelyï¿½s Booker Prize-winning novel weaves an exquisite mesh of memories, flashbacks and shifting voices, in a haunting story of loss and desire. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title. Product Description: The elderly Claudia Hampton, a best-selling author of popular history; lies alone in a London hospital bed. Memories of her life still glow in her fading consciousness, but she imagines writing a history of the world. Instead, Moon Tiger is her own history, the life of a strong, independent woman, with its often contentious relations with family and friends. At its center ï¿½ forever frozen in time, the still point of her turning world ï¿½ is the cruelly truncated affair with Tom, a British tank commander whom Claudia knew as a reporter in Egypt during World War II. About the Author: Penelope Lively is the author of many prize-winning novels and short-story collections for both adults and children.

She has twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize: once in 1977 for her first novel, The Road to Lichfield, and again in 1984 for According to Mark. She later won the 1987 Booker Prize for her highly acclaimed novel Moon Tiger. Her other books include Going Back; Judgement Day; Next to Nature, Art; Perfect Happiness; Passing On; City of the Mind; Cleopatra's Sister; Heat Wave; Beyond the Blue Mountains, a collection of short stories; Oleander, Jacaranda, a memoir of her childhood days in Egypt; Spiderweb; her autobiographical work, A House Unlocked; The Photograph; Making It Up; Consequences; Family Album, which was shortlisted for the 2009 Costa Novel Award, and How It All Began. She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award. She was appointed CBE in the 2001 New Year's Honours List, and DBE in 2012. Penelope Lively lives in London. "About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Event Detail - Moon Tiger - Moon Tiger Mon 17 February - Sat 22 February This event has passed. '[Moon Tiger] has "2014's must see West End production" written all over it. Jane Asher... gives an astonishing and a little short of mesmerising performance.' Bath Chronicle An extremely good night at the theatre with a mesmerizing star performance – by Jane Asher.' Gloucestershire Echo Compelling, moving and eloquent, one of the great novels of the 20th century is brought to the stage for the first time. Claudia Hampton is a popular historian, a strong, beautiful and difficult woman. Now in her seventies, she is plotting her greatest work – a history of the world. She looks back over her life growing up between the wars and remembers the people who have shared its triumphs and tragedies. There is Gordon, her adored brother; Jasper, the charming, untrustworthy lover and father of her daughter, and Tom, her one great love, both found and lost during the El Alamein campaign when she worked as a war correspondent. Against a background of world events, Claudia’s own remarkable story provokes a sharp combination of sadness, shock and amusement.

Adapted from Penelope Lively’s Booker Prize-winning novel by Simon Reade, and starring Jane Asher, Moon Tiger is a haunting story of loss and desire. 'A complex tapestry of great subtlety.' Daily Telegraph 'Very clever, evocative, thought provoking and hangs on the mind long after it is finished.' Literary Review Groups of 10 +: £3.50 discount on the adult ticket price excluding Friday & Saturday evening. For all shows you receive 1 in 10 tickets free, and there are also no booking fees! Click here for more information on group bookings. Beer & Burger Offer If you're coming to a comedy or music gig in any of our three theatres, enjoy a draught pint for only £1 when you buy our burger at Pier Eight Bar. Our delicious beef or sweet potato burgers, served in brioche buns with tomato relish, are the perfect way to get yourself ready for a night of dancing or belly laughs! When you buy one pre-show in Pier Eight Bar you can add any pint of draught beer or a soft drink for just £1. T&C's: One £1 pint per burger. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer.

Pier Eight Bar Pier Eight Bar is the ideal place to relax and enjoy a drink before a performance or avoid the car park crush once the show has finished. We offer a large range of draught and bottled beers, cask ales, cocktails and wine by the glass. We also have a fantastic range of gins, vodkas, whisk(e)ys and rums. Our casual dining bar menu is packed full of modern takes on classic British pub food, with our versions of Fish &Chips, Chicken Salad and Pie & Mash sure to delight. Booking isn't available in the bar, and tables are allocated on a first come first served basis. Food is served until 7pm on performance days.

Question: Who wrote the Booker prize-winning novel Moon Tiger?
Answer: PENELOPE LIVELY